The Rev. Howard Lincoln, priest at Sacred Catholic Church in Palm Desert, is among the speakers at a press conference held by Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz, far left, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, at Sacred Heart. Also attending and speaking were, from left, the Rev. Gerald Sharon of Hope Lutheran in Palm Desert; the Rev. Guy Wilson of Our Lady of Soledad in Coachella; Oscar Perez, 18, of Indio whose family migrated to the valley when he was a boy; and Megan Beaman Jacinto, a local immigration attorney.(Photo: Sherry Barkas/The Desert Sun)Buy Photo

Local clergy joined Congressman Raul Ruiz Saturday morning in Palm Desert for a short press conference against ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – or DACA – program that prevents young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

“We want to let dreamers know there is support for them here in the valley among the faith community,” the Rev. Gerald Sharon, a pastor with Hope Lutheran Church in Palm Desert, said.

The press conference was held at Sacred Heart Catholic School and followed a DACA workshop to answer questions of those worried what would happen if the program ends.

DACA was created by the Obama administration in 2012 and has since enrolled about 800,000 undocumented people brought to the United States by their families as children.

Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz speaks during a press conference he held with local clergy against the ending of DACA on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Palm Desert.(Photo: Sherry Barkas/The Desert Sun)

“This decision to end DACA goes against the very core of our American values of the American dream,” Ruiz, a Democrat from Coachella, said.

“Ending DACA would be a $460 billion hit to the economy over the next decade,” said Ruiz, who is for comprehensive immigration reform.

People enrolled in DACA have been “lying (sic) in fear” since it was announced the program would end, said Oscar Perez, 18 of Indio, whose parents brought him and his brother to the valley as young boys.

“We did not ask to be brought here,” Perez said, adding that America is the only country they know.